2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid review: A truck for the rest of us
Pick-up trucks are the best-selling vehicle type in Canada for good reason. They’re a versatile choice in a country with many unpaved roads, demanding jobs, and unfriendly weather conditions. But it’s undeniable that full-size trucks have become massive in recent years, and in some ways they’ve become impractical in cities and suburbs. If this resonates with you, take a look at this 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid review.
The Maverick has been a great pick since it launched for 2022, but this model year’s refresh brings a combination many of us have been waiting for: the hybrid powertrain is now available with all-wheel drive. If you want a truck more for garden centre runs than heavy duty, the Maverick Hybrid AWD might be just what you’re after.
I tested the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid AWD in its Lariat trim, on loan for review purposes from Ford Canada, while taking a road trip on the Niagara River Parkway. Have questions about the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid? Ask the automotive experts in our Facebook community!
2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid review: Pros and cons
2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid pros
- Excellent hybrid fuel economy
- AWD doesn’t hurt fuel efficiency
- Very drivable and maneuverable
2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid cons
- New infotainment screen is mounted too low
- Digital climate controls aren’t intuitive
- Middling marks in crash testing
What’s new on the 2025 Ford Maverick?
The big news with the refresh on the 2025 Ford Maverick is that the hybrid powertrain can now be optioned with all-wheel drive (AWD) on all trims where it’s offered. There’s also a new standard 13.2-inch infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The off-road oriented Tremor is now the top trim instead of a standalone package, and the new Maverick Lobo is a factory-tuned retro-style street truck with a quick-shift 7-speed automatic transmission, a torque vectoring rear drive unit, and performance-tuned steering and suspension.
What competes with the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid?
The 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid AWD has no direct competition. The closest is the Hyundai Santa Cruz, which is also a unibody compact truck but is not available with a hybrid powertrain. Small truck shoppers may also wish to cross-shop the Ford Maverick with mid-size trucks like the Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Honda Ridgeline, and Toyota Tacoma.
Size and exterior design
At 5,076 millimetres in length, 2,121 millimetres in width including the mirrors, and 1,740 mm in height, the Ford Maverick is roughly equivalent in size to a Ford Explorer (though importantly, the Maverick is nearly 15 centimetres narrower). Compare this to the 5,319 mm length, 2,431 mm width, and 1,953 mm height of a Ford F-150 with a 6.5-foot bed, and you’ll quickly see how the Maverick’s size is much more practical in applications like downtown parking garages or tight suburban mall parking lots.
Ground clearance is appropriately generous at 20.5 centimetres on the XL, XLT, and Lariat trims. On the off-road oriented Tremor, this increases to 22.8 cm. The Maverick Lobo is lowered by roughly 13 millimetres in the front and 30 mm in the rear, bringing total ground clearance down to 17.5 cm.
Interior design
The interior on the 2025 Ford Maverick Lariat seen here is very sharp. This blue and beige colourway is called Smoked Truffle, and it’s available on the Lariat trim at no extra charge. The XLT trim also has a unique colour combination on offer, a navy and grey setup called Navy Pier. All other trims come with a black-on-black interior.
While they’ve clearly been selected with economy in mind, the interior materials in the Maverick suit the truck’s character well and come across as being of appropriately high quality. The riveted look on the dashboard and door inserts is a subtle but meaningful touch. The Lariat trim brings convenience features like one-touch up and down front and rear windows and a power sliding rear window.
How much interior storage does the 2025 Ford Maverick have?
Interior storage is somewhat at a premium, which is to be expected in a truck of this size, but some thoughtful details are included that help. All four doors include a section that can hold taller water bottles, and storage bins are integrated under the rear seats as standard equipment. These won’t hold a week’s worth of groceries, but they will hold a spare bottle of washer fluid so it’s not kicking around in the rear seat.
In the second row, rather than integrating cup holders directly, Ford has built a notch into the back of the front console. This is designed to allow owners to 3D print their own accessories. You can use a cup holder in there as seen in this test unit, or you can print yourself a tablet holder, a wider cup holder for an extra-large coffee, or anything else you can dream up. It’s a cool feature that we may see become more widespread if it takes off.
Seat comfort
The front seats in the 2025 Ford Maverick are fabulous. They’re just the right combination of cushy and supportive to provide plenty of comfort for longer road trips. The heated seats are quick to warm up and get properly toasty on their top setting. However, ventilated front seats are not available.
I haven’t spent a lot of time in the Maverick’s rear seats, but I’ve observed that they’re not as well padded as the front seats. This is par for the course in pick-up trucks, though. The Maverick is only available in SuperCrew configuration and offers 937 millimetres of legroom, which is more than most mid-size trucks.
How many car seats fit in the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid?
The Maverick can accommodate one car seat in the rear middle position or two car seats in the outboard rear positions. A full set of LATCH anchors is included, including rear tethers that are accessible by pulling the rear seatback forward. The anchors in the seat cushions now have space built around them for easier access.
While I haven’t tested this first-hand, the centre rear position appears too narrow to accommodate a child seat while leaving much space for passengers on either side. I also suspect the Maverick can’t accommodate three car seats at once, even with narrow-profile models. If there’s anyone out there who has tested this and can confirm it, please get in touch!
How much cargo space is in the 2025 Ford Maverick?
The 2025 Ford Maverick’s cargo bed is 1,382 millimetres long, 1,353 mm wide above the wheel wells, and holds 943 litres of gear. This is significantly more than the 764 litres available in the Hyundai Santa Cruz, and it even comes close to the 960 litres offered in the Honda Ridgeline. Other midsize trucks come with more cargo space.
If you think you need a full-size truck to move wider objects like drywall, the Maverick can do that, too. The tailgate can quickly be adjusted to a half-height setting, which lets a full sheet of plywood rest on the tailgate and wheel wells for transport. An accessory is available for moving a motorcycle or dirt bike, and slats carved into the bed sides let you add pieces of wood to act as dividers. Up to 10 tie-down hooks are available, two of which are on an adjustable rail included with higher trims.
Infotainment and technology features
One of the most significant updates in the 2025 Ford Maverick is the new standard 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen, which is larger and sharper than the screens in earlier model years. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard. To the right of the screen, you can keep an information panel open to access vehicle information, or you can collapse it to make the smartphone app take up the full screen.
This new screen is a welcome development, though there are a couple of points to note. It’s a mid-cycle addition, so there’s only so much designers could do about where to put it, but I feel it’s mounted too low and takes the driver’s eyes too far off the road. This is especially true for the climate controls, which have been moved off the centre stack and onto the bottom of the screen. Some of these new digital controls aren’t immediately intuitive, though you may get used to them with time.
An 8-inch digital instrument cluster is also standard in the 2025 Maverick. This compact truck doesn’t yet offer some of Ford’s premium tech features, most notably BlueCruise, the automaker’s hands-free highway driving technology. This is fair given the Maverick’s price and position, though it would be a great addition at some point down the road.
How much power does the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid have?
The 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid uses a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine that’s tuned for improved fuel efficiency. It combines this with an electric motor to generate a combined 191 horsepower and 155 lb-ft of torque. When AWD is equipped, it uses the same mechanical system as the AWD EcoBoost. Power runs through a continuously variable transmission (CVT).
With the EcoBoost powertrain, a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine produces 238 hp and 275 lb-ft of torque, which runs through an 8-speed automatic transmission. The hybrid powertrain is standard on the XL and XLT trim levels in 2025, while the EcoBoost is standard on the higher trims.
How fuel-efficient is the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid?
Natural Resources Canada rates the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid’s fuel economy at 5.6 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving, 6.7 on the highway, and 6.2 combined. The Maverick EcoBoost gets ratings of 10.6 L/100 km city, 7.8 highway, and 9.4 combined. The Maverick Lobo’s higher city rating of 11.2 L/100 km bumps its combined rating up to 9.7 L/100 km. The Maverick Tremor gets the highest fuel economy ratings at 11.2 L/100 km city, 8.7 hwy, and 10.1 combined.
Having AWD equipped didn’t hurt the Maverick Hybrid’s fuel economy much during my test drive. I finished my 424 kilometres of driving at 6.5 L/100 km, 132.5 of which were electric according to the truck’s trip calculator. Before setting out on the final 150-kilometre highway run toward home, the truck was showing an even better average of 6.0 L/100 km. Those are impressive figures given how much capability this little truck has in reserve.
Based on its 52-litre fuel capacity, this means the Ford Maverick Hybrid will average roughly 840 kilometres per tank. With on-board tools like Ford’s braking coach, you can track your driving habits to help with fuel efficiency.
What is the towing capacity on the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid?
Regardless of powertrain, the 2025 Ford Maverick is rated to tow 2,000 pounds as standard. When equipped with the 4K Tow Package — which is available on the XL, XLT, and Lariat trims where AWD is equipped — towing capacity increases to 4,000 pounds. This package also equips a 2-inch trailer hitch, a four-pin and seven-pin connector, a trailer brake controller, a transmission oil cooler, an upgraded cooling fan, and a 17-inch spare tire.
The Maverick doesn’t come with some of the premium towing features available on Ford’s larger trucks such as Pro Trailer Backup Assist and Pro Trailer Hitch Assist. If you tow larger trailers frequently, these convenience features may be a good reason to spring for a larger truck.
Safety features
Standard safety technologies on the 2025 Ford Maverick are limited to forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, post-collision braking, and automatic high beams. For $800 extra, the Ford Co-Pilot360 suite adds intersection assist, blind spot monitoring, cross-traffic brake assist, evasive steering assist, and lane keep assist. This package is standard from the Lobo trim and higher.
Prospective owners should know the Maverick receives a Marginal rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for rear seat passenger safety in its Moderate Overlap Front crash test, as well as for driver pelvis protection in the Side test.
2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid driving impressions
The 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid is a joy to drive. While its numbers don’t look stellar on paper, the truck provides enough power to be comfortable in unladen city driving, which is how most owners will use it the majority of the time. The CVT is less intrusive than most and doesn’t take away from the drive feel. Thanks to the unibody construction, the Maverick drives more like an SUV than a truck. It rides smoothly over bumps without wallowing around in dips in the road.
Apart from some wind noise that became apparent at highway speeds, I thoroughly enjoyed the Maverick as a road trip companion. Though you’ll need to add an accessory tonneau cover and install a bed divider, the Maverick could work well in this role with a family of four as well.
How much is the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid in Canada?
Pricing on the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid starts in Canada at $36,995 in Canada for the XL Hybrid trim with front-wheel drive (FWD), including the $2,295 destination charge and other fees. Adding AWD brings the base price up to $39,495. The non-hybrid Ford Maverick EcoBoost, by comparison, starts at $37,495 with standard AWD. Most drivers would make up the $2,000 upcharge for the hybrid through fuel cost savings in roughly two years.
The 2025 Maverick XLT starts at $39,495, while the Lobo is priced from $44,295, the Lariat starts at $48,995, and the Tremor is priced from $50,495. Our test unit, a 2025 Ford Maverick Lariat Hybrid AWD, has a sticker price of $51,645. This includes a $1,200 sunroof, a $550 block heater, the $900 4K Tow Package, and floor mats.
Is the 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid worth buying?
For drivers who want a truck more for its style and the convenience of an external bed, the Ford Maverick Hybrid is a fantastic buy. Yes, the price on the Maverick has gone up almost $10,000 since it launched three years ago, but prices are up on everything. Compare the price of this Maverick Lariat to the average top-trim three-row SUV. If you’re looking to that SUV for cargo space but you don’t need all those seats, the Maverick’s price tag starts to look very reasonable.
The middling crash test ratings give me a moment of pause, but I would put that aside for how well the Maverick Hybrid AWD fits my suburban lifestyle as a homeowner with a small family. It’s practical, functional, versatile, fuel-efficient, and it delivers on value big time. If I were to buy a brand-new vehicle for myself right now, a Ford Maverick Hybrid AWD is exactly the one I would choose.
Read more car reviews and driving tips >
